IP, IE, FF & Some Great Advice!

Computer is driving me a wee bit insane today. I keep trying to comment on blogs and none of them are taking, then Firefox kicks in asking if I have the right addy. Really, Firefox ticks me off no end sometimes, behaving like an over-protective nanny-goat. I changed from IE to FF because IE had Issues, but my god, FF has plenty of its own!

And I'm not even going to start on about my internet provider, who are driving me nuts. And then after an unsatisfactory exchange of correspondence sent me a survey to fill in to let them know what experience I had when dealing with them *snort* I don't think they really want to know what I think!

Apart from that, book 2 is coming along and although I'm behind in my word count (I wanted to hit 60k this weekend but it's not looking feasible) I'm loving where my characters are taking me.

Finally, if you haven't already do pop over to the amazing Shelley Munro's blog where she's had Brenna Lyons give some fabulous info on the Pros and Cons of Writing for Different Publishers Part One and Part Two Excellent advice!

Chariot Racing in Camulod

Forbidden is set in AD 50 in Cymru (present day Wales). The book I'm working on at the moment starts off in Cymru, but Morwyn and Bren travel to Camulod (Roman Camulodunum), present day Colchester in the East of England. During the very early years of occupation Camulod was the capital of Britannia, and Londinium (London) only became the capital after the Boudiccia rebellion razed Camulod to the ground in AD 61.

Colchester has a unique heritage with visible remains of the Roman walls, the Temple of Claudius, the Roman theatre and other sites. In a bid to preserve another piece of recently unearthed Colchester Roman history, a consortium is trying to buy the Victorian Sergeants Mess building on the former Cavalry barracks - and the gardens under which lie the starting gates of Britain's only discovered chariot racing circus. This is the only one in the Roman Empire discovered north of the Alps.

I found out about the circus from this site, and there's a lot of fascinating bits of information over there. If only I could go visit Colchester and explore all the ancient sites. Why didn't I appreciate this history more when I was living in England??

Good Sex Guide Mk II (But Strictly no Sex)

While tripping innocently through the blogosphere earlier today, I found the most hysterical post over at The Pen and Ink. Now, I have to say I'm not sure whether it's based on reality or a spoof (rather like the Good Sex Guide I laughed about a few months ago!!) but either way it's good for a laugh. Though actually if it's true, it's not so much funny as bloody chilling.

The following guidelines apparently come from a 1954 article on how to write stories for boys and girls. You may need a stiff drink to calm your nerves!

"Dad should always work in an office or to a responsible job like a fireman or a policeman. Fathers should never be an unemployed loafer or a union organizer. Mothers should always be homemakers. Mother’s who work in offices set a bad example for impressionable girls."

Yeah, OK...

"Boy characters should have healthy, manly hobbies like playing baseball, collecting bubble gum cards, and outdoor camping. Girls should like sewing, cooking and talking with other girls about like clothes and boys. Activities that keep boys inside like reading, writing or thinking are not suitable role models for young men. Those are girl activities. On the other hand, too much physical exercise by girl characters would be unrealistic and your reader would lose interest. If your story has a Tomboy, make sure she is not a major character. Make the Tomboy a supporting character who longs to act like a real girl."

I don't even know where to begin with this one. Leaving aside the whole sewing aspect for girls, is the author of this piece seriously saying boys should not read, write or think?! And then goes on to say they're girl activities. Hmm so girls can think and boys can't, but when it comes down to it men rule the world and the women have to stay at home... oh yeah! Makes total sense now!!

And as for the tomboy character. OMG!

"Dress your characters in appropriate clothing. Boys: short sleeve shirts (only puny boys who spend too much time reading in their rooms wear long sleeve shirts), loose, comfortable pants with pockets and Keds sneakers with tied laces.

"Girls: ankle-length skirts (absolute no pants), Mary Jane shoes (only girls with loose morals wear high heels unless attending special occasions like a funeral or a wedding), hair tied in a pony tail or neatly trimmed.

"If you follow these tips, your story is sure to be a delight to boys and girls everywhere, and stand the test of time just like the classics you read as a youth.

"End your story with a good, hearty laugh at the dinner table. Perhaps, Skippy the family dog runs through the house chasing Fluffy, the neighbor’s cat.

"These are a few tips for a good writing and wholesome reading."


OK so what's the verdict? Could this have been pulled from a genuine article written in 1954 or is it a send up?

A Sexy Spartacus

Thanks to Eleni - who posted this clip on her blog the other day. It's the trailer for a new series called Spartacus - Blood and Sand. It looks very bloody and very sexy and I can't wait to watch it!!!



OK - well, phew! I enjoyed that!!

Well it seems discussion about promo is in cyberspace at the moment as I came across another interesting post over at Fangs, Fur, Fey where Jennifer Estep asks - how much is too much when it comes to blogs/interviews to promote your next book? Very interesting question.

And finally Query Tracker are holding a contest for romance and urban fantasy authors on Monday, 18th January. You need to get a one-paragraph blurb about the book and the first two pages of your completed MS into them asap!

Promo - Love it or Hate it

Over the last few days I've been thinking about what promo I should do for when FORBIDDEN hits the shelves, and basically freaking out. Luckily, the awesome Amanda Ashby calmed me down with great advice, which basically amounts to this. Do what you're comfortable with doing, and concentrate on writing the next book.

Strangely enough, Nathan Bransford has a post on his blog today tackling the same question. And basically his advice is this. "do what you're best at. Don't make yourself miserable doing what you think you should be doing, do what you enjoy doing."

Do you enjoy promo? What do you think works/doesn't work? And what do you think of book trailers?

Winners of Rachel Bailey's Contest!

Here's a note from Rachel!

WINNERS!!!

Thanks to the trusty online random number generator, the winners are:

Shayne &

Helen Hardt!

Thanks everyone for commenting, and Shayne & Helen, can you let Christina know which book you'd prefer? =)

See you all around!

And because I love spreading good news around, Rachel has recently joined up with six other awesomely talented Harlequin authors to start up a new blog called Lovecatsdownunder and for their opening week (this week!) they are giving away heaps of free books every day! Definitely worth a click over to check out!!

Forbidden & Reviews

Hoping to hit 40k on Book 2 by the end of the week, which always feels like a great milestone. I also had to revisit Book 1 to check up some facts for Book 2 - and ended up reading the last 100 pages. What a relief to realise I still love the ending as much as I ever did! I've also been doing some research on what my druid princess heroine might wear on the cover of FORBIDDEN - So Exciting!

Anyway to change the subject slightly (!)I should think most, if not all, writers have faced at least one not-so-great review of their book. They might sting but really the best way to cope is to just move on. The other day I came across this blog post over at Katiebabs where she discusses the phenomenon of authors asking particular review sites not to review their books. Personally I'd want my books talked about rather than completely ignored. How else is anyone going to even know it exists? What do you think?

(Haven't forgotten about the contest - results coming up soon!! Watch this space...)

Claiming His Bought Bride ~ Rachel Bailey

Please welcome my special guest today, debut Silhouette Desire author Rachel Bailey, who's celebrating the release of Claiming His Bought Bride in January, and The Blackmailed Bride's Secret Child in February.

Rachel was instrumental in setting up the inaugural RWAus Bootcampers 101 and the RWA/RWNZ CP Register. Not only that, but she's also editor extraordinaire of Hearts Talk, the RWAus monthly newsletter!

Rachel is generously giving away a book to two lucky commentators today! The winners have the choice between CHBB or TBBSC - just leave a comment to enter! (Contest will close Tuesday evening, Oz time)

Hi Rachel! Please tell us a little about yourself!

I’ve always loved stories and I adore having a big, luscious pile of books to immerse myself in. I live in Queensland, which is the north eastern state of Australia and spend my days writing stories about heroes and heroines. Pretty lucky, hey? J

Blog: http://community.eharlequin.com/content/silhouette-desire-author-blog

1. I've been lucky enough to read your debut book already, and I absolutely adore Damon and Lily. Can you give us a taster of what this book is about?

It’s about Damon, who’s driven by some forces from his childhood, and Lily who has left him once already because he couldn’t prioritize her in his life. They come back together because they need each other – Damon has a chance to finally get his father’s company back from his uncle, if he produces a legitimate heir for the uncle to leave his fortune to; and Lily has found she’s pregnant (from when they were together before). So they both lay down their conditions and strike a deal for a marriage of convenience. Of course, Damon’s pretty keen to turn it into a ‘real marriage’ and when he sets his mind to it, he can be pretty persuasive!

Excerpt Here!

2. How did the idea for the plot come about?

I was lying in bed one morning in that half-awake state (where you know you’re awake but the imagination is freer) and I was thinking about this man (very sexy, naturally) attending a party thrown by his father, but he didn’t want to be there. And then he runs into his ex-lover. Once I was fully awake and started plotting it, the father changed to his uncle and all the other elements fell into line. It was a fun one to plot!

1. I love when that happens! We also love hearing about sale stories here! So can you tell us about your road to publication - and your call story?

I’d been writing for a few years, but pretty much all over the place – whatever took my fancy at the time, from quirky romantic comedies to category romances. Then, after one of my critique partners, Robyn Grady, sold to Desire, I started reading that line more and found I loved it. Loved the stories, loved the authors’ voices. This was a place I could see myself. So I wrote a story for Desire about Damon and Lily and polished and polished it.

When I was ready, I queried my dream agent, Jenn Schober from Spencerhill. Fortunately, she liked them, took me on and then sent them on a trip to New York to meet Diana Ventimiglia. For company, she also sent three chapters of another story, about Nico and Beth, with them. They all sat in the waiting room at Desire for a few months while things changed a little at the line, and then Diana read Damon and Lily and sent them up to the then senior editor to read.

Then Jenn emailed me to say they wanted to buy the manuscript, and lots of lovely things, including that they want to pay me actual money for it, and that they want to release Damon and Lily into the world in early 2010. They also liked Nico and Beth too and bought it soon after.

My husband saw the ‘call’ email—from my agent, Jenn Schober—when he booted up the computer in the morning (because I’m in Australia, the email had come in overnight). He came racing up to the bedroom to wake me up and dragged me down, still groggy, to see the offer. I woke up pretty quickly. J I emailed my critique partners and friends and we opened a bottle of champagne that night.

4. LOL on paying you actual money! That's a fabulous sale story. Do you write every day? Do you give yourself daily/weekly goals?

I do write every day, but some days more than others. Some days are ‘writing days’ and they’re the ones I try and get as many words down as I possibly can. On days that aren’t ‘writing days’ I still always do something towards the book, be it polishing up earlier chapters, or brainstorming in the shower. I don’t set goals, but I’m thinking maybe I should…

5. Panster or plotter?

Plotter. Though if a new twist emerges that will have flow on effects, I’m happy to change the plot.

6. What keeps you motivated when the writing gets tough?

Deadlines! J And knowing that I worked hard to get where I am, so I don’t want to squander it by giving in when it’s tough. I want to keep moving forward, writing the best stories I can.

7. Yes, deadlines are a very good motivator!! Is there any advice or light bulb moment you'd like to share about getting published?

I think for me it was when I stopped trying to sell hats to shoe shops. Amy Andrews wrote a fabulous article a few years ago titled, “Give Them What They Want” and she had some great wisdom in there that I haven’t forgotten. I realised if the editor is looking for shoes, then no matter how pretty my hat is, she/he will have no place for it. But show her/him a nice pair of shoes, and the game is on.

8. Do you have critique partners (CPs)? If so can you tell us how you met up and your process?

I treasure my critique partners. Melissa James and I met online. Robyn Grady lives an hour away and we met at a writer’s lunch she organised. Barbara Jeffcott Geris and I met through a crit group we were both in. Sharon Archer and I were email friends first and then began swapping work. My process with each cp is different, and also changes over time depending on needs. But we read work for each other, brainstorm and generally provide support and a cheer squad.

Thanks for having me, Christina!

The Blackmailed Bride's Secret Child

~ Silhouette Desire
North America – February 2010
~ HM&B Desire
Australia & New Zealand – March 2010

ISBN-10: 0373730117 ISBN-13: 978-0373730117

Nico Jordan is about to face the woman who ripped his heart out. When he was twenty-two, he loved Beth utterly and completely – and she left him without a word, for his older, richer half-brother. In the intervening seven years, Beth has borne his brother a son, and Nico has become wealthy in his own right, and a renowned playboy. But the torment of knowing she belongs to his brother, Kent, has never dimmed.

Beth Jordan is relieved when Kent, the man who blackmailed her into marriage, dies – she’ll finally be free. Unfortunately her freedom won’t extend to reclaiming her lost love. Seven years ago, she left the only man she’d ever loved, Nico, to protect him. But now Nico has arrived on her doorstep, wanting to see his nephew for the first time. How will she face him once he realizes he’s the father of her son?

Excerpt Here!

Hot Romans & Sydney Booksigning!

Do I need a reason for posting Clive Owen kitted out as a Roman? No, I didn't think so... hehehe...

For anyone who's going to be in or near Sydney next Thursday, 14th January, the lovely Nalini Singh(bestselling author of Blaze of Memory and Angels' Blood) is doing a booksigning at Galaxy Books - details here Have fun!!!

And don't forget to pop by tomorrow when I'm interviewing debut Silhouette Desire author Rachel Bailey. Fabulous prizes are on offer!!!

Kreativ Blogger Award

Thank you to the lovely Cari Quinn, for this fun award! I need to share seven fun facts about myself and pass the award on to seven other bloggers. Of course my mind is a blank! I blame the weather. It's been so hot over the last few days it's like sitting in an oven in my office... even now, 11 at night, it's like a sauna!

OK here we go.

1. I'm allergic to perfume, scented body cream and prawns. I'm especially peeved about the prawns, since I was perfectly ok with them up until last Christmas when for some reason I started to swell up like a balloon!!

2. The best finale of a fave series was Battlestar Galactica. I know some people hated it but they are wrong, wrong wrong! It totally rocked. I loved it soooo much. Does this count as a fact about myself? I'm not sure, but since I'm still obsessed by the series I'm sticking with it.

3. While going through security at Singapore airport, my shoes set off the alarms. We didn't figure out the culprit was my shoes straight away *sigh*

4. I am still slightly obsessed with Bat Out of Hell by Meat Loaf. I bet that one's a big surprise!!

5. My first crush was on Les Mckeown from the Bay City Rollers. Bye, Bye, Baby!!!

6. The very first thing I noticed about my husband-to-be (from across the crowded room - ok it wasn't that crowded but it definitely was a room!) were his fabulous blue eyes. Even now I have to fight the urge to give every single one of my heroes amazing blue eyes.

7. I can no longer drink alcohol. I discovered two years ago even a couple of sips made me grumpy and sent me off to sleep, which is pretty annoying as I really love the taste of bacardi and coke. So now I'm a Chardonnay girl through and through! (yeah I'm fussy on the wine front too!!)

I pass this beautiful award on to:

Amanda Ashby

Sara Hantz

Eleni Konstantine

Mel Teshco

Suzanne Brandyn

Nell Dixon

April Vine

Crawling Back into the Saddle

Well, it's very hard getting back into the swing of writing!! This always happens when I take a few days off (OK, it was more than a few days... nearer a week and a half!) Anyway, I managed 1k yesterday which got me back into the story, and another 1k today which is a huge relief since this scene was very sticky. And probably the reason why I left it hanging on Christmas Eve!!

The week leading up to Christmas was very exciting, with emails flying between my agent, editor and me regarding back cover copy for FORBIDDEN. As soon as it's all finalised I'll post it up here and on my website. I also hammered out a brief bio (why are those things so hard?I never know what to put in them!!) And hopefully it shouldn't be too long before we have a cover!!

I stumbled across an interesting blog post this afternoon - Top Ten Questions Dutton Editors Ask Themselves When Looking at a Manuscript. Although aimed at children's writers the points are pretty universal for all writers, I think!

Happy Twenty-Ten!!!

MySpace Glitters

It's hard to believe another year's come to an end, another decade in fact! So, do you do New Year's Resolutions? While I tend not to, I do like to make lists (then again, I have a weakness for making lists at any time of the year!)

When I look back over 2009, I still can't quite believe how two of my most cherished dreams concerning my career have come true. 2009 will always be special to me, for signing with my dream agent and for my darling Roman finding a fabulous home with Berkley.

I wish you all a very happy, healthy and love-filled New Year! See you in 2010!!!

Happy Holidays!!!

MySpace Glitters

Ritual Passion - Cathryn Brunet

Please welcome my special guest today, the lovely Cathryn Brunet, whose debut erotic fantasy romance Ritual Passion is released today by Samhain Publishing - just in time for a happy hot Christmas!!

Cathryn, thanks for stopping by! Can you tell us a little about your book?

Ritual Passion is an erotic fantasy romance containing jungle-hardened warriors, a capricious goddess, corrupt priests and some seriously hot sex.

RITUAL PASSION

A passion to appease the gods…or call down their vengeance.

The jungle-wrapped city of Challas is dying, crumbling under the weight of its corrupt priesthood and degenerate new gods. But an even greater threat looms on the horizon. Outside the city walls, a pestilence breeds. Unless stopped, it will crawl through the city’s decaying streets and destroy everyone.

Phalandria wants to see her magnificent city reborn and freed from the perversion of the priests who murdered her father. And she wants Massilis, the man who has stood by her side since childhood. The man who’s developed into a magnificent, jungle-hardened warrior…and ignites her unquenchable desire. Although Massilis has always protected her, only once has he allowed his hunger for her to show.

Now the water oracle has called for Phalandria and Massilis to perform the Concubitia, a sexual rite to propitiate the gods. But the priests suspect a conspiracy and will do anything to protect themselves. And Phalandria realizes that the priests are not the only ones sabotaging the ritual.

The man she loves has an agenda of his own.

Degenerate gods, corrupt priests and a jungle hardened warrior! *Christina fans self* I can't wait to read this book! How did the idea for the plot come about?

Ritual Passion started out as a combination of writing exercise and a half-hearted attempt to write a Spice Brief. As an experiment, I decided to write in first person. Suddenly I discovered this new voice coming through. A voice I liked. A lot.

I know it might sound strange but I had no idea of the plot. I simply wrote the first line and from there the words flowed as though I’d been thinking about the story for months. It was if the city of Challas, sexy narrator Phalandria and gorgeous, muscled warrior Massilis already existed and I was just a conduit for their story.

I’d never free-written to that extent before. But since then I’ve used the method on another erotica and I plan to try it again in the future. Though, given I have the next three writing projects already decided, that won't be for a while.

I love sale stories (ok I am just nosy!!) so can you tell us about your road to publication - and your call story?

The first version of Ritual Passion was just over 15,000 words. After sending it off to some readers (who universally loved it) I submitted it to Spice Briefs and promptly forgot about it while I worked on a single title. Six months later I received a rejection. I wasn’t surprised. Having read several Spice Briefs I didn’t really think it would fit the line, but I loved the story and thought it was worth a try.

I’ve had a great interest in e-publishing for a while now and Samhain always struck me as a serious player in the industry with an excellent reputation. So, on the 15^th December 2008, I sent Ritual Passion to them. On January 6^th, I received a rewrite and resubmit. The editor, Deborah Nemeth, loved my voice and the setting but wanted some changes. Quite extensive ones, it turned out, and I admit they damn near did my head in.

I wasn’t confident I could nail the rewrite but decided to persevere because 1/. I absolutely loathe not completing things and if I dropped it, Ritual Passion would forever remain unfinished business, a sort of “what if” hanging over my head. And 2/. If, in the end, nothing came of it, the experience of working with an editor would still be invaluable.

It took me until April to complete the rewrite, partly because I had other things on the go and partly because I found it so hard. By then, Ritual Passion had doubled in size with a lot more focus on the characters’ relationship and an expansion of the overall plot.

In June, Deborah came back to me with another rewrite and resubmit, and I gave serious consideration as to whether I would keep at it. I’d already spent an inordinate amount of time on the project - I could have written, at minimum, another 90,000 word single title in the time – and there was no guarantee I would be offered a contract at the end of the second rewrite.

But then I thought, “Don’t be an idiot!!!!”

So I worked my bum off again and sent the revised manuscript off on June 30. One month later, more than seven months after that first submission, Deborah offered publication.

And then the editing process started!

What a fantastic sale story, Cathryn. Do you write every day?

The short answer is, bar weekends, yes. I’ve always treated my writing as a business that’s open Monday to Friday. I sit down at the computer sometime between 6-30 and 7am and work through until approximately 3pm at which time I wander out for a couple of hour’s walk (I find walking fantastic for plotting and sorting out characterisations etc), a bike ride or, if I’m really lucky, golf. Anything that takes me out of the house and away from the computer.

Do you give yourself daily/weekly goals?

Sometimes but not often. My goals are more of the “just finish the book” type. I do, however, really enjoy writers’ groups where you post your daily totals. I find them an excellent motivator. The Romance Writers of New Zealand run a great loop called Book In 50 Days and even though my goal isn’t to write a book in that time period, I love posting my total to it. It’s a wonderfully supportive group.

LOL, yes I constantly tell myself to just finish the book! So would you call yourself a panster or plotter?

Umm....sometimes a panster, sometimes a plotter.

The first 4 or so books I wrote I pansted, although I did have a solid idea of what the stories were about, where they were going, and the main characters. I simply started with the idea in my head and sat down and wrote.

But then I tried plotting, and did that for the next two single titles. Ritual Passion I completely pansted, same as the manuscript I’ve just handed in to my editor. With my current work in progress, Pureheart, I’ve had to plot because it’s a complicated fantasy. And I’ve already plotted my next project, although only quite broadly.

I prefer pansting because it’s exciting. You never know where your characters will lead you, which means if you want to discover what happens next, you have to keep writing!

Yes, that's what I love about pansting, although sometimes it would be good to know what was supposed to happen next! What keeps you motivated when the writing gets tough?

As I said, I adore writers’ groups like the RWNZ's Book In 50 Days and, of course, I have my brilliant critique partners, but mostly I rely on sheer determination. Plus I loathe not finishing things. Half done projects, whether it’s housework, crossword puzzles or anything, make me twitchy. I’m disturbingly anal like that.

I'm with you on hating to leave things half finished. Except the housework, I don't mind about that!! Is there any advice or light bulb moment you'd like to share about getting/being published?

Find yourself some good critique partners. That's an absolute must, in my opinion.

Never give up. Believe in yourself and your writing. And never be afraid to try something new. Who knows where it could lead!

Great advice. Do you have critique partners (CPs)? If so can you tell us how you met up and your process?

I have some wonderful and extremely talented ladies as CP’s. Our initial group was formed three years ago after we hooked up on the Romance Writers of Australia loop. We all write in different genres and with different styles so we receive an excellent cross-section of opinions.

At the start, we all sent out one chapter a month for critique and did line edits on those. That didn’t quite work out, so now we send out 3 chapters or around 50 pages and rather than line edits we look at big picture type stuff – plots, characterisations, motivations etc.

Sadly, a couple of the original members have left but we still keep in touch to share triumphs and tribulations. Earlier this year we welcomed a new member and we’re on the hunt for one or two more.

Cathryn's Website

Cathryn's Blog

Check out the trailer!

10 Survival Tips for Writers & Other Things

If anyone's in need of a good inspirational talk, then hop on over to the fabulous Jenny Crusie's blog where she's listed Ten Tips for Writers. Awesome. I love it, it certainly perked me up! I was lucky enough to attend the RWNZ conference a couple of years ago when Jenny was keynote speaker, and again with the awesomeness!!

And because I like passing on good things, here's the scoop from UF author Erica Hayes's blog:

"Each day up until Christmas (starting today, that's Sunday for all you weekend blogreaders), I'm giving away a signed copy of SHADOWFAE to one lucky person who drops by.

And (yes! but wait, there's more) on the last day, the winner will also receive my very first SHADOWGLASS ARC! Be the first person in the WORLD to read my smokin' hot March 2010 release... well, except for my agent. And my editor. And my cat (he loved it, of course). And possibly a pile of reviewers... But you can be the first REAL person to read it. You know what I mean."

Pop over to Erica's LJ to enter this fab contest!

And on Wednesday (although if the links go live I'll post it up late my Tuesday!) I'm interviewing the very lovely Cathryn Brunet, whose debut erotic romance Ritual Passion is being released by Samhain. Now that would make a scorching hot Christmas pressie!!

Delicious Debuts #3

Very slowly working my way through my tbr piles - only problem is I keep adding to them so I'm not exactly making any headway!!! Anyway I've read a couple of fantastic books over the last couple of weeks, so I'm showcasing them here!

First up, Cari Quinn's debut, Full Disclosure, published by the Wild Rose Press:



Thirty-eight-year-old divorcee Holly Burrows has had enough of battery-operated love. Prompted by an ad left at her law office, she investigates Hunk Du Jour, a website designed to foster ‘adult connections’. After weeks of sexy emails and phone calls with surf hunk Kent, she's ready to test their chemistry in person. But first she has to get through lunch with her colleague Alex, a man with a brain as agile as his body. When their consultation ends with a bang, she barely remembers the man she'd lined up for dessert. Now she thinks she's juggling two hot young guys. How can she choose between her two gorgeous cubs – and why do they remind her of each other?






This is a complete scorcher! Sexy and erotic, I loved the emotional intensity and fireworks between Holly and Alex. I'm also a sucker for a hero with a sense of humour and several times I giggled at the interactions between Holly and the sinfully hot Alex! I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series about Holly's little sister, Haley!


Tracey O'Hara's Night's Cold Kiss, published by Eros an imprint of HarperCollins

For centuries war raged between the humans and Aeternus vampires—until courageous efforts on both sides forged a fragile peace.

But the rogue Necrodreniacs will never be controlled—addicted as they are to the death-high . . . and bloody chaos.

Since witnessing the murder of her mother, Antoinette Petrescu has burned with fiery hatred for the vampire race—even for Christian Laroque, the noble, dangerously handsome Aeternus who rescued her. Now an elite Venator, Antoinette must reluctantly accept Christian's help to achieve her vengeance—even as he plots to use the beautiful, unsuspecting warrior as bait to draw out the bloodthirsty dreniacs.

Night's Cold Kiss is the first book in the Dark Brethren series and I am hooked. Dark and powerful, I love the way Tracey pulls no punches . As an added bonus Tracey's just uploaded a prequel onto her website - Dante Rising - that shows the scene where Antoinette watches her mother's brutal murder. Chilling!

Cover Art

My editor is going to be discussing cover art with the art department very soon (squee!!!) so she wanted to know what ideas I had. I emailed my agent for a bit of a brainstorm and was completely blown away when she told me what she had in mind - it was almost exactly the same vision I had for FORBIDDEN!!! I'm taking that as a sign!

So I've just sent the email off to my editor, and seriously it took me about two hours to hit Send. Am I the only one who has trouble hitting that Send button? Still, at least it's a bit easier than trying to find and post an envelope, I suppose!!

Anyway, in between stressing about hitting the Send button, I signed onto Goodreads. That was fun. I have three friends so far!! When I figure out how, I'll put a link on my sidebar.

And I'm afraid that sex scene still hasn't been consummated!!!

"Forbidden"

I received a lovely email today from my editor *squee*! She suggested shortening the title His Forbidden Princess, which might give the wrong impression of the book, to Forbidden.

After I thought about it for a few moments, I realised she was completely right. Much as I love the previous title it doesn't immediately conjure up the essence of the story, whereas Forbidden sounds dark and powerful and sexy! When I told my husband (who generally offers no opinion on such matters!!) he made a point of telling me that he really liked it.

What do you think?

And also I'm thrilled that Berkley are bringing forward the release date to September 2010! OMG. That's not far off at all!!!

Writing Sex

I haven't come to a standstill on the wip, but it's slowed to a painful crawl. I'm lucky if I can squeeze out an entire page just lately. And the reason? Because finally my hero and heroine are acting on the scorching lust that's been driving them crazy from the moment they met.

I love writing love scenes. I really love reading them back afterwards. But I find the actual writing of them incredibly challenging. Okay, exhausting! I've been on this one for the entire week and by the look of things it won't be fully consummated until at least Sunday!

So it was serendipitous when I came across this link on Twitter - writing love scenes by Jill Sorenson. Well worth checking out!

And funnily enough there's a post up on Romancing the Blog today about awkward sex scenes in romance novels. I found that fascinating because I have a strong inkling that if I get the chance to write book 3 set in my Roman world, the sex between the hero and heroine is going to be fraught with problems due to my heroine's traumatic former marriage.

Claiming His Bought Bride

I sent the edits back to my agent last week, and today hit two words short of 25k on the wip. Another 5k and I'll be a third of the way through!



Back in October, Eleni Konstantine hosted the fabulous Eleni-Fest. I not only won a very cool mug and matching pen from Eleni but also a copy of Rachel Bailey's debut Silhouette Desire, Claiming His Bought Bride.

Because Rachel's book doesn't hit the shelves until January 2010, I didn't think my copy would arrive until the New Year. So imagine how excited I was when it turned up yesterday! And oh wow, it's a smoking hot keeper. I'm not going to give anything away just yet as the lovely Rachel is guesting on my blog in January when we'll be chatting about the book. But I will say this. I managed to write only one sentence on the wip this morning before my resolve cracked and I had to read the rest of Damon and Lily's story!

And just look at that gorgeous cover. It's so romantic and perfectly matches a scene in the book!

Line Edits Have Landed

Yesterday morning, in fact! So I've been knuckling down addressing my agent's comments and suggestions. Luckily she loved the proposal and it's more a question of tightening up sections and paying closer attention to clarity. This is something my CPs are always pointing out to me as I do tend to forget not everyone is currently living in my own world and things do need to be explained!!

My aim is to get these all finished and back to her within the next day or so and then we'll be on track to send the partial to Berkley!

Gearing up for Christmas & Revisions

Finally started the Christmas shopping over the weekend and felt Very Guilty at not even opening my document for three whole days. But since my husband rarely gets days off and he was very excited about putting up the Christmas tree I decided this is what's called balance!!! So, Christmas tree is up, some presents are wrapped and two turkeys are stuffed into the freezer (one is for New Year's Day. Not even I'm that greedy on Christmas Day!!!)

As for the wip, I heard back from my agent that I'm on the right track with it and I should be receiving some line edits from her for the partial some time this month. I'm also expecting to hear from my editor before Christmas on revisions to PRINCESS, so I'm kind of biting my nails over that at the moment!

I'm also very excited to share that my lovely friend Kaye Manro has just sold her science fiction/futuristic romance Forbidden Love, to Red Rose Publishing! Congratulations, Kaye!

Plasticine Rules!

Well I just found out my fab CP Amanda entered her hysterical plasticine Zombie Queen of Newbury High book trailer in the You Gotta Read video contest for November - and forget to tell anyone. Whoops!!! So if you enjoyed the trailer and have a spare couple of seconds please pop over to the site and vote!!!

So has anyone seen New Moon yet? My three offspring were all over it on Saturday, and the younger two went again last night. I think the vote is firmly in Team Jacob!! not being a Twilight fan myself I'll wait until the DVD comes out. However, the other night I came across a site that displayed the 30 most disturbing Twilight merchandising. There was one thing there that completely floored me. Why would they be selling an open hamburger, and what did that have to do with the books or movies?

~*~* S P O I L E R ~*~*

OMG!!! Turns out it isn't an open hamburger at all. It's supposed to represent Bella's womb, complete with half vampire baby-creature-thingie in the middle. Gross is what I call it. Here's the link if you don't believe me!!!!!!!!!!!!

Readathon!

Sometimes the terms "self-publishing" and "vanity publishing" are used interchangeably, which is incorrect. There's a big difference and I don't think there's anything favourable that can be said about the latter. For a detailed break down of the terms of Horizons vanity press, Jackie Kessler has an excellent post on her blog. There are also lively discussions over at Smart Bitches and Dear Author

On a happier note, The Book Depository has a promo going, where over 11,000 e-books are available for free download. Christmas just came early!!!

I've Gone off Chocolate

A couple of days ago while peeling potatoes, I managed to slice off the top of my finger. Like, ouch. That will teach me to day dream about my current hero when wielding a sharp implement! Last night, after dinner, I was munching on a mini-Mars bar when I bit into something crunchy. Since as far as I know Mars bars don't have crunchy bits I sent my tongue to investigate and discovered half my tooth had fallen off and was now in a million tiny fragments. Like, urgh!

I thought I'd need an emergency dash to the dentist but thankfully it doesn't hurt so fingers crossed it hangs on until the New Year. Dentist fees are ridiculous! And it's Christmas in less than six weeks! I'd much rather an e-reader than a dental cap!!

However, there is some good news as earlier in the week my husband hunted down a tiny rubber band for our coffee maker so HOORAY! My addiction is now being fed on a far too regular basis.

As for the writing, that's crawling along at a snail's pace but I've reached the conclusion that is all part of my process. I'm lucky to squeeze out 1k a day for the first third of a book, then it tends to creep up to 2k a day and by the time I hit the home stretch I'm up to 3k a day. At least that's what happened with the last two books and I'm comforting myself it's gonna happen with this one too!

And OMG. What do you think of Harlequin's latest venture, Horizons? Vanity publishing? Really?

Time for Fun & Congratulations!!!

I'm stunned almost another week's gone by without me posting a blog!! I swear days just vanish on me and if that's not bad enough it's also the middle of November! That's just not right. What happened to July?

I want to give a big shout out to a couple of friends who have great news. First of all, the lovely Helen Hardt has her first Ellora's Cave book released, Slow and Wet, a hot Western menage. Congratulations, Helen!

In other news, Mel Teshco - whose debut EC title Stone Cold Lover was released recently, has just sold a vampire novella to Nocturne Bites. Yay, Mel!

And last night my good friend Eleni Konstantine send me a link to a Victorian Dress Up Doll. Do you remember those paper cut out dolls you could buy with their paper costumes? Well now you can do it all online!!! Now, this is actually writing related!!! It's a fabulous promo for a new book called Soulless by Gail Carriger- a comedy of manners set in Victorian London: full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking. I spent way too long last night playing with it! So much fun!!!

Reality vs The Fantasy

It's an odd phenomenon, but when a writer tells their non-writing friends and relatives they've sold a book, there seems to be this mystical assumption the writer must now be rolling in it. Ha ha, wouldn't that be nice!!!

To put it all into perspective Lynn Viehl, New York Times bestseller of Twilight Fall has just posted up her most recent royalty statement. It's a real eye-opener and if you have a moment it's well worth reading Lynn's blog post on the subject.

OK, back to the day dreams for me!

Full Disclosure - Cari Quinn

Please welcome my special guest this week, the lovely Cari Quinn! I first met Cari soon after I sold my first novelette last year, and I'm so happy that her first Scarlet Rose, Full Disclosure, has just been released today by The Wilder Roses!

Bio

Cari Quinn wrote her first story - a bible parable - in 2nd grade, much to the delight of the nuns at her Catholic school. Once she saw the warm reception that first tale garnered, she was hooked. She attempted her first romance in junior high, long before she'd ever read one. Writing what she knew always took a backseat to what she wanted to know, and that still holds true today. Cari's genres of choice include contemporary, romantic comedy, romantic suspense, urban fantasy and paranormal. Recently she discovered erotic romance. Oh, how far she's come…

Visit her at www.cariquinn.blogspot.com

Cari, welcome! Can you tell us a little about your book?

Sure can! Here's the blurb:

Thirty-eight-year-old divorcee Holly Burrows has had enough of battery-operated love. Prompted by an ad left at her law office, she investigates Hunk Du Jour, a website designed to foster ‘adult connections’. After weeks of sexy emails and phone calls with surf hunk Kent, she's ready to test their chemistry in person. But first she has to get through lunch with her colleague Alex, a man with a brain as agile as his body. When their consultation ends with a bang, she barely remembers the man she'd lined up for dessert. Now she thinks she's juggling two hot young guys. How can she choose between her two gorgeous cubs – and why do they remind her of each other?

And an excerpt...

Alex's hair brushed his collar, messily kempt in its own wayward style. Holly doubted he’d seen a barber in quite a while. She also doubted he was the type of man who’d wince if she yanked his hair too hard during sex.

That sealed it for her, and placed the cherry red lipstick kiss on the envelope. After her sexually anemic ex-husband, she deserved a young stud. And hell, she’d make sure the young stud got a lil’ something out of the deal, too.

After the waitress took Alex’s card, she rose. Her poker face had always held her in good stead. She’d simply act as if she were a sexy older woman who expected her every sexual demand to be met. He’d never guess the back of her neck had already dampened, despite the air conditioning. “Your place or mine?”

Alex stood beside her, drawing her gaze up to his sculpted jaw and the sexy cleft in his chin. He was taller than her five-ten by a good four inches. There weren’t a lot of guys who made her feel small—okay, smaller—but he did.

Of course, she’d noticed his height--and the way he filled out a pair of trousers--in the office. She’d pretended not to notice, just as she pretended now to be unmoved by the heat of his fingers on her wrist. But that single contact tightened her nipples to painful nubs.

Come to Mama.

“Let’s go to your place. I want to see where you live.” His gaze skipped over her face and continued down over her discreetly displayed cleavage in a way that was more proprietary than proper. “Where you sleep.”

When his fingers brushed her thrumming pulse, she gave him a flirty smile. “Where I won’t be sleeping tonight.”


Full Disclosure is about Alex and Holly, lawyers who work in the same Buffalo firm. He's a bit of a wild card and she's seemingly straight-laced, but as we all know, appearances often deceive. He's been intrigued by her for a while now, so he goes to great lengths to show her that sometimes opposites don't only attract, they spontaneously combust. ;)

Holly is divorced and a bit jaded. She's also tired of self-administered sex. ;) Though she wouldn't normally consider online dating, when she finds an ad for Hunk Du Jour on her chair at work, she decides to go for it. And she gets a bit more than she bargained for when she thinks she has to choose between two young, sexy guys - Kent, the man she meets online, and her very hot colleague, Alex.

Christina fans self. Phew! did someone turn the heating up in here? So how did the idea for the plot come about?

I've always found the idea of internet dating fascinating and wanted to write a story about a couple who meets virtually and establishes a sex connection before their feelings develop. Hunk Du Jour, the website that features prominently in the story, really took on a life of its own and I found I couldn't quite leave that world behind, even after Holly got her HEA.

Ooh, do I sense a series could be brewing? As you probably know, I love sale stories! Can you tell us about your road to publication - and your call story?

Hmm, my road to publication started with writing Bible stories in elementary school and climaxed in selling my first story, an erotic romance. How's that for a change of genre? LOL I finished my first short contemporary novel in 2007, entered a contest, didn't win. Entered the Golden Heart, and got scores from low, to average, to pretty high. I moved on to Virgin Territory, a book that tried my ever-living soul. But that book's on submission right now, and I have my fingers crossed. I love Vincent and Kiki and I hope they get to see the light of day somewhere other than on my computer. LOL

Then I tackled Full Disclosure, which I'd started and stopped in between one of my many drafts of VT. I received "the email" from my fabulous editor, Karen Welwyn, at The Wild Rose Press in mid-August 09, on my first day of vacation. I've loved every step of the process. My erotic "short" topped out at 30K, and thanks to the brilliant idea of my CP, Tara Leigh Coons, I'm about to submit a follow-up story about Jenny, the webmistress of Hunk Du Jour. And a story about Haley, Holly's younger sister, is also in the works.

Sounds very exciting! Do you write every day? Do you give yourself daily/weekly goals?

Again, this is another question I wish I could answer "yes!" But unfortunately I seem to be a "spree" writer...it's not unusual for me to write 10K over a couple day period, then not write for two weeks. I'm trying very hard to get into a routine, but it comes about as naturally to me as plotting with index cards. I do give myself goals - I figure out roughly how long it should take me to revise, usually drastically underestimate that time, and end up taking twice as long. But I do set them. ;)

Panster or plotter?

I wish I could say plotter, as I have a rather large streak of envy for those who plot with color-coded index cards, highlighters and sticky notes and actually USE them after they've gone to the trouble of creating them. Alas, that's not me, though for the Blaze I'm doing for NaNoWriMo this year, I did outline two WHOLE chapters. LOL But the story that best illustrates my usual style: when I started my first Blaze, Virgin Territory, I had my hero's name, a location, an opening scene and a premise. I didn't even know my heroine's name! I've gotten a bit better since then, as the three from-scratch rewrites it took to get that story in (hopefully) saleable shape proved that sometimes a little forethought's a good thing. ;)

LOL! I hear you on the (non)plotting aspect! What keeps you motivated when the writing gets tough?

Lots of things. My CPs and writer buddies always cheer me on, and the love of telling a story is something I can't ever forget for too long. Just reading a good book (Nora Roberts and Jeaniene Frost are my favorite authors) is frequently motivation enough. I want to be the one who makes my readers laugh and cry and yes, get turned on too. ;) Plus my goals seem to get bigger and more ambitious by the day, and they definitely don't give me much time to rest. I don't sleep a lot and I drink way too much coffee, but I think that's true about a lot of writers.

It's good to have goals (and definitely good to have coffee too!!!) Is there any advice or light bulb moment you'd like to share about getting/being published?

Not a light bulb moment, but it took awhile for me to understand writing is a job. It can be a hobby, and it should be an art, but it's not just something you play at dependent on your whims, not if you intend to make any sort of living at it. There's way too much competition. To me, Nora is the perfect example of this. She takes her career very seriously, and her work is amazing. But the work comes first. Not before family and friends, of course, but it should take precedence over things like Twitter. (And yes, I'm entering internet rehab for Twitter...admitting you have a problem is the first step, right?)

Do you have critique partners (CPs)? If so can you tell us how you met up and your process?

Yes, I do! I have 3 "regular CPs"...2 I'm working with currently, 1 that I'm on a bit of a hiatus with, another I intend to start working with in the coming months and yet another that's somewhat of a brainstorming partner. So obviously I think having CPs works. ;)

Tara, my first CP, and I met up on an eHarlequin critique partner board. It was love at first crit, and we're still going strong. We even share a blog! (http://wordwenches.blogspot.com/) My second CP, Helen Hardt, and I met up through our freelance editing for an epublisher, and she's helped me get over a lot of my erotic romance hangups...such as getting used to typing certain words that once made me blush. (Hey, I'm a Catholic school girl at heart!) I wouldn't let either of them go for anything. As for Ashley, Jaime and Sam... *waves*. Each of them works a bit differently - some do line edits, some look for an overall "feel" - but they're all hugely helpful to me and I appreciate having them as sounding boards.

Delicious Debuts #2

I'm slowly working my way through my electronic tbr pile and over the weekend read an absolute scorcher from my lovely friend, Mel Teshco, who's debut erotic novella, Stone Cold Lover, available from Ellora's Cave, was well worth waiting for!!


Blurb:

Heiress Loretta Shaw is notorious for her loose morals and sexual needs. Trouble is, it’s taken her one too many one-night stands to realize that no man can extinguish the sexual fire she feels toward her guardian, Cray Diamond.

A long-ago curse made Cray immortal—a gargoyle, a guardian, who is impelled to protect a human, chosen by the curse. He is imprisoned in stone during daylight hours but the dusk returns him to flesh and bone, to carry out his immortal duty.

That Cray can shift between human and living gargoyle at night, bothers Loretta not one bit. She’s seen him naked many times and her desire for him—in any shape or form—knows no bounds. She’s tired of his resistance. He’s her gargoyle and she wants him in her bed.

I'd not read a gargoyle story before so was fascinated by that concept. And wow is Cray a hot gargoyle!!! Cray, honourable guardian, tries so hard to resist Loretta but after saving her one too many times his superhuman control shatters. Oh wow. My computer screen sizzled as they finally came together (OK I apologise for that shocking pun but *phew*!!) the flight over Sydney totally took my breath away. I don't think I'll ever look at another gargoyle in quite the same way again!

Caffeine Withdrawal

I never thought I was that addicted to coffee, but a few days ago a tiny rubber band snapped on our coffee maker (the bit that seals the coffee maker to the coffee jug) rendering it useless. OMG! No coffee. And you wouldn't believe how difficult it is to find a place that first of all knows what bit of the appliance you're talking about, and secondly can get hold of said bit. Turns out they have to order these bands from the Eastern States (or perhaps even from Italy, who knows?) Anyway like I said, I never thought I was that addicted to the stuff but the headaches I've been getting every night at 7 pm are unbelievable! And much as I love black tea it just isn't hitting the spot!!

As for the writing side of things, I've finally hammered out a synopsis for my second Ancient Historical. That was surreal and I can't say I enjoyed the process but since it's a necessary evil I just kind of sucked it up (and all this without benefit of coffee, remember!!) Fingers crossed on that one!

Halloween Goodness!!

Today, Halloween (well, it's already Halloween on the other side of Australia!!) I'm over at Eleni's Taverna as part of Eleni-Fest, where I'm chatting about Romans and Angels and Druid Princesses. There's a copy of either Foretaste of Forever or Touch of the Demon up for grabs for one lucky commenter, and the contest is open until 5th November. I'd love to see you over there!

Happy Halloween!!

Contest Winner, Contest & Another Upcoming Contest!

Congratulations to Kylie Griffin who won Eleni's super cute stationery pack!

There's still time to win heaps of fab prizes over at Eleni-Fest all this week. In fact I'll be over there on Saturday, Halloween, appropriately offering a giveaway of either Touch of the Demon or Foretaste of Forever. More on that later!

A quick update on Amanda's fun Zombie book trailer. Here are the deets, shamelessly stolen direct from her blog:

To enter all people have to do is either post a copy of the trailer on their blog, link to it or even post a tweet. Then, once they've done that they just need to send me an email to:

amanda at amandaashby dot com (no spaces)

to let me know what they've done and I'll put them in the draw to win my Very Last Zombie Survival Kit.

Delicious Debuts #1

I really do need an e-reader! I think I might ask Santa for one, if I promise to be a very bad girl... what do you think...?

Today I'm highlighting two short stories available from The Wild Rose Press, both written by lovely friends and released a few months ago.

HIS SHIP, HER FANTASY by Emma Lai

Blurb

Ellie Woods is in love...with a ship. When an argument with the ship results in a bump on the head, she finds herself in the strong arms of Alastair. But who is he and where did he come from?

Alastair has loved Ellie from afar for years, but duty has kept him from revealing himself to her. When a grave threat reveals his true identity, he hopes that Ellie will choose reality over fantasy.

A wonderfully different romance, Ellie is the only female Junior Engineer on her space craft and passes the time during her solitary shifts by chatting to the ship - which has its own unique way of answering back! I was completely intrigued by the mysterious Alistair and look forward to reading more about the fascinating Mates of the Guardians series!

KILT WORTHY by Catherine Bybee

Blurb

Peering at the world from behind her camera lens, "Plain Jane" Parker is stunned to see a handsome hunk wearing a kilt as he confidently strolls down a busy Seattle street. Her dormant libido roars to life even before their eyes meet. Aroused and intrigued, she tosses aside her usual caution and follows when Logan MacLaren beckons for a delightfully sinful one-night stand.

Logan is an exceptionally talented lover, wielding the abundant sword he sports beneath his plaid to deliver unparalleled pleasures. He reminds her to trust her instincts after reality proves they're a more perfect fit than either imagined.

Then Logan drops his bombshell: He's traveled through time to find her and wants her to stay with him forever...in medieval Scotland. Did Jane just have the most erotic sex of her life with a delusional crazy man, or is it truly possible for her one-night stand to last forever? 

Catherine's delicious sense of humour shines through in this steamy romance, told in first person by the self-conscious Jane. I thoroughly enjoyed how Jane and Logan (and his abundant sword... gotta love that line!!) were swept up in the exhilarating ride of finding their soul mate and falling in love, and watching how Jane discovered that she was truly... kilt worthy!

Your Friday Giggle!!!

Big thank you to Eleni for her fabulous blog post yesterday. It brought back lots of "OH MY GOD!!!" moments for me, that's for sure!! Eleni will be picking a winner for her super-cute mini pack after the weekend so be sure to drop by to see if you've won! And there's still plenty of time to leave a comment - you've got to be in it to win it!!!

Amanda Ashby has just made a new trailer for Zombie Queen of Newbury High. I laughed so hard this morning I woke my son up, who limped into my office and then of course I had to play it again (such a hardship - not!!) He also thought it hilarious! So here, just for you, is the updated version of Zombie Queen of Newbury High. I challenge you to watch this and not spit your wine at least once!!!